Tony Dyson Dead: Creator Of R2-D2 ‘Star Wars’ Droid Dies At 68

It’s a sad day for ‘Star Wars’ fans. Tony Dyson, the creator of the famous R2-D2 droid has passed away at 68 years old.

Tony Dyson, the technician behind R2-D2 robot from Star Wars: A New Hope, has died. The 68-year-old’s girlfriend reportedly could not get ahold of him and called the police. They found his body at his Malta home, TMZ has reported, on Thursday, March 3.

Tony made eight R2-D2 robots for the Star Wars series, including two for Kenny Baker to actually fit inside of, two to be used as thrown away in the Empire Strikes Back bog scene, as well as a head and master moulds. In a past interview, he called that time “one of the most exciting periods of my life.”

Tony, who was also a professor, owned The White House Toy Company and in addition to R2-D2, also worked on Superman 2 with Christopher Reeve, Moonraker and the 1981 film, Dragonslayer. He also landed an Emmy nomination. In Saturn 3, he directed the special effects filming of the evil robot Hector.

Of course, Star Wars fans took to social media immediately to pay tribute to the genius behind the droid we all love.